Recent reviews by Zem

This game feels a lot like an updated version of the original DayZ/Epoch mods. Lots of fun. You can setup the game to be a PvE survival, or a PvP madhouse, or a little of both. The mechanics are actually quite deep, even if the game is still a work in progress. Overall, having a ton of fun with it.

I would say that for the first 100 hrs, it will feel confusing and hardcore because there is A LOT of info you just need to find out on your own. The ingame tutorial is just not up to the task. But if you have someone to help you, or if you can take to Youtube to get more information, that time can be cut down to about 5 hours.

No crossplay in a racing game in 2021 means it is crap.

Fun chill city-builder that does things very different from others. There is an organic nature to how your city evolves because your citizens have free will, generate their own roads, and build their own housing. You can affect each of these a little in different ways, so you are not limited by what the AI wants to do. However you really do feel like you are managing a real medieval village.

Playstyle is similar to Evil Genius instead of typically city-building games like SimCity and RTS builders like AoE, in that evolution of the city is somewhat in the hands of the AI, and combat is something that happens "out there" and is not something that you take part in.

Several maps and mods to choose from increase replayability, and the game gets you interested in learning more about how to best setup your cities without turning into a min/max MS Excel analysis of efficiency. Definitely worth checking out, and the current iteration of the game is fully playable and still being actively developed.

60 hours in and having a blast. It is a very relaxing and zen game that you will find yourself pouring hours and hours into.

TL;DR: Absolutely phenomenal game that doesn't look like much on the surface. In short, Valheim has managed to take the very best of the RIGHT things that exist in other Survival/Crafting/OpenWorld games, sprinkle in a bit of innovation, add their own flavor and theme, and drop all the extra crap and feature-bloat that seems to plaque other titles in the long-term.

Full Review: I play a LOT of survival/crafting/open-world games. Probably 3500+ hours between 7 Days to Die, Subnautica, Empyrion, The Forest, etc. This one is special not because it has the best features or best graphics or most depth, but because of how well it manages to hit the mark in ways that are different from other games. Valheim's genius is that it doesn't try to be the best at anything except player experience, and it nails that.

• There is depth, but not to a level of spreadsheets
  
• There is crafting, but not to the level of micro-management
  
• There is gorgeous building, but not to the level of lag or overwhelming options
  
• There is customization, but not to the level of billions of ridiculous options like GTA:O
  
• There are dedicated servers OR P2P
  
• There is a procedurally generated world, but it never looks janky and cobbled together they way it does in 7 Days to Die sometimes
  
• There is an innovative difficulty scaling algorithm, but death never seems totally conquerable
  
• The game looks gorgeous, but doesn't get wrapped up in hyper-realism that tends to isolate out players on lower-tier rigs
  
• There are mods available, but none that are required for a great experience
  
• Teamwork is highly rewarding, but a solo player can have a fantastic full experience as well

Valheim hits an amazing sweet spot and offers a lot of promise. From an architectural standpoint, the game is impressive. The sound design is immersive. The music is actually not annoying. The lighting is stunning. The artistic choice they made with the textures and geometry is appealing somehow, even to someone like me that tends to gravitate towards hyper-realism in my graphics.

There are some downsides:

• It is early access, and the future - like all early access - is unknown
  
• The forums are filled with players that want easy-mode fixes that I hope the devs ignore
  
• PvP is essentially non-existent in the traditional sense
  
• Several core features are still missing
  
• The progression means some of the later bosses are less than challenging
  
• There are a few bugs
  
• There are definite exploits that possibly unbalance the game greatly for unscrupulous players

But despite all growing pains and concerns of an early Alpha, I am optimistic. At nearly 200 hours I am still having a blast. Unlike many games, both the developer AND the publisher are devoted indy-game supporters that believe in long-term development and improvement to their playerbase (Coffee Stain is a PERFECT partner to Iron Gate considering their history). I originally bought this game because of the review that Mack posted on his WorthABuy YouTube channel. If you haven't seen that, I recommend checking him out. I can echo his sentiments: This game is worth it.

160 hrs in. I think I can write this now:

SHORT: The game is not without faults, but it is an amazing achievement

LONG: The world and lore that they created is amazing. Yes it is a little rough around the edges, and yes there are some bugs that will cause some aggravation, but overall my experience has been fantastic. 160 hrs in three weeks means that they did something right.

The true areas of genius are the open world, the side quests, and the graphics. There are so many different ways to approach the different challenges that there is some decent replay value.

The challenges are the bugs, the lack of some open world staples from GTAV and others, and the disastrous previous-gen console release. The bugs I can understand. It happens with a game this ambitious and they are quickly patching the worst. The lack of some expected features I can live with because of the large expansions and patches they have already announced for the coming months. It is obvious they are devoted to fixing and expanding the game.

The real failure was in the console release. Someone high up decided for the cash grab and released the game on the previous gen consoles, and that should have NEVER happened. The game looks and plays awful. There is no excuse for that. I understand why they did it, and I understand that it had already been delayed several times and their hand was forced a bit.....but it just should not have happened. Absent that, I believe 70% of the bad press would have evaporated. But here we are.

All that aside, the game is a blast. It needs some balancing and rework of some of the perks. It needs some polish to the NPC spawn-in. It needs more depth to the characters and world. It needs the sync between the voice files and animations improved. It needs more content and lots more customization options for clothing, housing, and vehicles. And yet I put 160 hours into the game in three weeks.

I recommend it. Play the game. Immerse yourself in the world. Do the side quests. Develop your character fully. Enjoy Night City and all that it has to offer. And above all wait and hope as CDPR continues to improve and develop the game.

Fun time sink of a game that lets you have your way with houses and remake them as you like. Simple and easy progression, decent graphics, and a nice amount of options. If you like Car Mechanic Simulator, you will find a lot about this game that is similar. Not a bad way to lose the hours.

What a delightful charming little game. Part Monster Rancher, part Satisfactory. You explore the Far Far Range, collect slimes, breed them if you wish, feed them, and sell their poop.

Pros:

• Easy to pickup
  
• Fun playful graphics
  
• Will run well on just about any system
  
• Engaging and simple path to improving your character, farm, and gear
  
• Nearly impossible to "lose" the game, so you can relax and enjoy the gameplay without worrying about doing the exact right thing at the exact right time.

Cons:

• Not difficult. Even at low levels you can bypass or out-maneuver most enemies
  
• Simple. The mechanics lack great depth, so the joy is in the playthrough rather than min/maxing. This may be a pro to some
  
• Time sink. Your farm will gradually take more and more of your time to manage. There are automated functions that you unlock, and even if your farm completely devolves into chaos you can easily rebuild. However even considering those points you will find that you spend a decent amount of time managing your farm instead of exploring.
  
  Honestly it is a great game and well worth the price. Truly entertaining and not stressful. It has a lot of personality, and there is plenty to do so far. Recommended.
  

Tons of fun and solid gameplay. There are tons of spectacular maps in the workshop, and we play this with a group of 5-10 several nights a week. Definitely worth the price.

Great gameplay and tons of fun. Highly recommended at the default price, and an absolute steal if it is on sale. Just hard enough to be a challenge without making it so hard that you pull your hair out. Silly, strategic, polished. The controls are not too hard to pick up, and there is a nice progression of skill upgrades over the course of your playthrough. Plenty of randomness built in, so each playthrough is a little different.

Short Version: This game is polished, phenomenally fun, and still getting love from the devs. The screenshots do not do it justice at all. Explore a massive ocean! Survive in an underwater alien world! Meet several creatures that will attempt to eat you!

Longer Version: I picked this game up in 2015 when it was in Early Access after watching Games4Kickz play it on his YouTube channel. From the very beginning it has been stable, and the dev team has been both transparant and diligent. The entire roadmap is available to the public. They have delivered. I have come back to this game again and again.

This is a survival game with a good story and solid gameplay. The pacing is challenging, but not difficult. It allows you to really enjoy the gorgeous environments, while not allowing you to let yourself get bored. There is a LOT to discover.

If you have enjoyed 7 Days to Die/Empyrion/The Forest/etc, there is a lot here for you. It is not a voxel world, but it is far more refined than any of those titles. There is crafting, exploration, habitat building and customization, resource management, farming, and more.

What is most impressive is just how real and tactile and visceral the entire gameplay is. You FEEL like you are there. I highly recommend this game, and if you still want to see how devoted the devs are to the betterment of the game even after official release, google "Subnautica Roadmap". This is one of the very rare true successes of Early Access. Please check it out.